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Konstantinos Tsoukalas

Konstantinos is the founder and administrator of Wintips.org. Since 1995 he works and provides IT support as a computer and network expert to individuals and large companies. He is specialized in solving problems related to Windows or other Microsoft products (Windows Server, Office, Microsoft 365, etc.).

165 Comments

  1. Thorsten
    October 20, 2023 @ 4:25 pm

    Thank you so much!

    Reply

  2. Ken
    June 26, 2019 @ 3:19 pm

    Million Thanks, Saved my files.

    Reply

    • acoul
      April 7, 2023 @ 1:18 pm

      wintips.org provides by far legit & reliable sources of tips & information on the netland. repeatedly has saved me from reinstalling OSs. amazing site, hope it lasts !

      Reply

  3. Shrinivas Adam
    September 13, 2017 @ 1:29 pm

    Ohh Myyyyy GOD !!! Its really worked for me, saved lot of time. U saved my life.

    Reply

  4. Rajnish Rokdey
    June 21, 2017 @ 2:55 pm

    Thank you sir..
    My computer is recovered without loss of any data..

    Reply

  5. Brandon
    May 8, 2017 @ 10:44 pm

    Thanks

    Reply

  6. Marko
    March 23, 2017 @ 8:45 am

    Thanks :)

    Reply

  7. Sajid
    December 1, 2016 @ 7:13 pm

    Thank u very much bro. U saved me

    Reply

  8. Shaq
    November 26, 2016 @ 6:52 pm

    i dont have the restore folder in system volume information volume…
    can someone help ?

    Reply

  9. Kris
    November 21, 2016 @ 4:44 pm

    I tried the above method but got this error upon re-booting, “Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
    System32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys”

    Do you have any ideas how to go about it?

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

    • lakonst
      November 21, 2016 @ 5:07 pm

      @Kris: I believe that your disk is damaged. I suggest you to connect the disk to another computer and backup your files. After backup, try the following:
      1.Boot your system from a Windows XP installation media and then in the Windows XP setup screen press the 'R' key to run the Windows Recovery Console.
      2. At command prompt type the following command and press enter: chkdsk c: /r
      3. Restart your computer and try to boot to Windows.
      If the problem persists, then boot from the Windows CD again, start the recovery console and in command prompt type:
      copy x:\i386\ntfs.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers
      (Select Y to overwrite the file when asked and reboot your computer again)
      Good luck!

      Reply

  10. Puri Purno
    October 5, 2016 @ 4:18 am

    LUAR BIASA !
    PERFECT !
    THANK YOU SO MUCH BRO !

    Reply

  11. meh
    August 6, 2016 @ 1:29 pm

    It works for me toooo……Thanks a lot

    Reply

  12. Robert
    July 30, 2016 @ 11:59 pm

    Mini XP won't boot up on the computer that I'm having problems with. It's a Fujitsu laptop. The memory seems to be fine. Mini XP boots to a blank screen. I'm wondering if it's actually booted up, but it's just not displaying video. Maybe it's a video driver issue. Has anyone else had this problem? I haven't found any forums where people have been discussing this specific problem. The same copy of Mini XP boots fine on my desktop computer.

    Reply

  13. Bill Gates
    July 28, 2016 @ 12:42 am

    You saved my old XP laptop, thanks a lot dude!

    Reply

  14. Sabelo Zulu
    June 8, 2016 @ 10:14 am

    Thanks was very Helpful. …..

    Reply

  15. nrb
    May 10, 2016 @ 11:42 am

    you save my life.
    Thanks

    Reply

  16. Sweet Seth
    December 16, 2015 @ 6:38 pm

    how can i restore a missing or corrupt windows/system32 config/system on a notebook or through a USB drive.

    Reply

  17. Nathaniel
    December 4, 2015 @ 4:40 am

    Sir thank you very much. Help us alot.

    Reply

  18. alex
    September 22, 2015 @ 9:57 am

    it worked, thank you very much

    Reply

  19. evris kapasakalis
    September 4, 2015 @ 10:55 am

    VERY GOOD!!

    Reply

  20. miknos
    August 8, 2015 @ 2:04 am

    I followed procedures correct but the boot cd won't run'
    "… strike F1 to retry boot F2 for setup utility" is the error message. However the xp
    installation CD runs and I can get into recovery console. a Dell diagnostic was done and there were no errors or signs of hardware damage detected.The boot CD is from someone
    else who used it successfully. I have a Dell dimension 2400 series PC.What is wrong?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      August 15, 2015 @ 11:23 am

      @miknos: Re-create the CD.

      Reply

  21. YURIY
    July 23, 2015 @ 6:45 am

    Thank you very much and God bless you! Everything is working fine!

    Reply

  22. Dedis
    May 2, 2015 @ 5:32 am

    Thanks! It worked just fine. You're great…

    Reply

  23. zikora
    April 26, 2015 @ 11:50 am

    Hi I can't delete or move the "system" file from step 7. It tells me access is denied. And I cant rename the _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM. so I am stuck on this step

    Reply

    • lakonst
      April 27, 2015 @ 8:59 am

      @zikora: Probably the disk is damaged. If you can, connect the disk to another computer and perform a check disk (e.g: chkdsk d: / f /r

      Reply

      • Tc
        November 12, 2016 @ 3:57 am

        The Windows boot is fixable where when attempt to open config folder it says corrupt n whatever. The direction I followed this time, been years, was rename config folder which was allowed and create new one where I pasted "system". On restart I mistakenly hit the any key to skip chkdsk and machine froze on safe mode with command prompt. Reboot to mini Xp and brought up command prompt to type c chkdsk /f. Fixed many items but still frozen on any reboot or black screen of death. Ran another method of chkdsk but no fix. Browsed back in to config folder and was able to open what was corrupted so I swapped it back in place and fired right up to Windows

        Reply

  24. Vipul
    April 23, 2015 @ 9:33 pm

    This is awsome solution…i tried multiple solution but did not help..thanks a lot
    I have done booting through USB as CD drive was not working.

    Reply

  25. Adrias
    April 21, 2015 @ 9:56 am

    Thanks, man! It worked just fine. You're great… God bless you!

    Reply

  26. Leul
    March 29, 2015 @ 10:32 am

    hey i found this error message config folder is unreadable please please help if anything i could do

    Reply

  27. Pashkustva
    March 26, 2015 @ 9:08 pm

    tutorial is really helpful!
    thanks to the author!

    veikiantis!

    Reply

  28. joe khozomba
    March 13, 2015 @ 10:15 pm

    thank you for this solution

    Reply

  29. Beachguy
    March 4, 2015 @ 4:15 pm

    Helped me to repair a real PITA machine to working. Many,many thanks!

    Reply

  30. Jean Paul
    March 2, 2015 @ 3:40 am

    I got in and everything but I could not access the C Drive. I get the message C: is not acessible. The device is not ready. Could you possibly have a solution as to why?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      March 2, 2015 @ 12:26 pm

      Maybe your disk is damaged. Place the disk in another computer and take a backup of your files. If during Startup, Windows wants to check the problematic hard disk for errors DO NOT INTERRUPT the check disk operation.

      Reply

  31. Zamari
    February 17, 2015 @ 9:29 am

    Thank you …. worked like a charme

    Reply

  32. zalatemo
    January 20, 2015 @ 9:27 pm

    thank youuuuuuuuu you saved my old wooden pc yooohooooo

    Reply

  33. Pretty thick
    December 1, 2014 @ 12:46 pm

    Using Hirens 15.2 on old HP PC with Windows XP and cannot detect Hard Drive (C) in Mini-XP. Why?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      December 1, 2014 @ 5:18 pm

      Maybe your disk is damaged.

      Reply

  34. Doran
    November 28, 2014 @ 9:30 pm

    Thanks SOOOO MUCH…..stuck with and old machine that was not booting. This sorted it all out.
    Brilliant……

    Reply

  35. the fool
    September 11, 2014 @ 3:43 pm

    hi – i made a clone of xp system – deleted config files then deleted config dir from other computer – redposit orig files back to problem xp (have to add new config dir first) – problem keeps re-occuring – chkdsk encountering errors – probly diskboot and/or c: drive and/or whole disk is going bye bye but still want to use it so …had restore turned off – turning it back on and may have to go to F8 to return to last known good config each time…thanks for the tips…good find here…I may also try a Windows 7 install over it for kicks or a diff/new WinXp install (not from clone); clone was poss bad as well.

    Reply

  36. Nigel Hay
    September 10, 2014 @ 10:20 pm

    I had the dreaded “Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
    \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM” message. I tried the repair option from the XP install disc but it blue screened every time. I followed your instructions using the Hirens Mini XP, when I re-boot I now get as far as the Windows XP splash screen then the screen just goes blank. Can you suggest what else I could try?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      September 11, 2014 @ 9:25 am

      Hello Nigel,
      1. Can you boot in Safe mode? If yes, uninstall your Video card (VGA) driver (from safe mode) and then install it again.
      2. Follow again this guide, but this time copy the "Registry" files from a different (newest) snapshot folder.
      3. Check your disk for damages. (Test and diagnose your hard drive (HDD) for errors).
      Goode luck!

      Reply

  37. Mark Hueffman
    September 10, 2014 @ 2:55 am

    Booted up the computer this morning and got the system error and panicked! Found you online and burned the disc and fixed everything. Donation of $10 sent! Thanks again.

    Reply

    • lakonst
      September 10, 2014 @ 8:54 am

      Thanks for your support Mark.

      Reply

  38. Arnold Gupta
    August 4, 2014 @ 9:37 am

    Thanks a lot for all your research, hard work and solution!!! God bless you!

    Reply

  39. John
    August 2, 2014 @ 12:57 pm

    Couldn't find the restore file. If the restore file doesnt exist in the system volume information folder, how do i proceed from there?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      August 3, 2014 @ 9:17 am

      Unfortunately you cannot proceed to the rest steps. If the restore file is missing, means that the System Restore (System protection) feature was disabled on your machine.
      The only solution remains, is to backup your hard disk data to another media and then re-install the OS.

      Reply

  40. Dirk vd Marel
    July 25, 2014 @ 9:15 am

    My system was totally out of order … The config folder in windows/system32/ directory was corrupt and impossible to open. But this repair option did work. A large xrf system was connected with the pc so I copied the config files from a backup to this folder and the SYSTEM + SAM + SECURITY + SOFTWARE had to be copied as well. This program is really awesome… thanks for that…

    Reply

  41. Dan
    July 23, 2014 @ 2:20 pm

    Omg this is brilliant! I have a hardware error and could not fix my problem by going down the xp repair disk route.

    I had my laptop hdd connected to my PC (as an external hdd) and followed the steps and my laptop now reboots.

    Thankyou so much!

    Reply

  42. Sylpheel
    July 11, 2014 @ 6:47 pm

    Fantastic!!! You saved me!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!!

    Reply

  43. LSkidgel
    June 30, 2014 @ 3:37 pm

    Thank you SO much, this saved my computer.

    Reply

  44. name
    June 27, 2014 @ 5:02 am

    its work great

    Reply

  45. pvash
    June 24, 2014 @ 3:37 pm

    Thanks a lot… !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  46. Mike Taylor
    May 23, 2014 @ 7:57 pm

    Thank you! Worked for me

    Reply

  47. Bigrep
    May 15, 2014 @ 10:26 am

    Shot for still helping people on this even though it was posted by the looks of it over a year ago.
    However the system corrupt worked for me thanks and now it says:
    Corrupt or Missing \System32\ntoskrnl.exe

    Is there somewhere on the mini xp I can find this to put it on there or something?
    Thanks in advance

    Reply

    • lakonst
      May 15, 2014 @ 4:11 pm

      Bigrep, try the below steps and inform me for the results:
      1. Insert your Windows XP CD and restart your computer.
      2. Boot from Windows CD.
      3. At the “Welcome to Setup” screen, press R to start the Recovery Console.
      4. Type your password and hit Enter
      5. At command prompt type this command (as D: is your CDROM's drive letter):
      expand D:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ C:\Windows\system32\

      6. Press Enter.
      7. Ask YES to overwrite.
      8. Restart your computer.

      Reply

      • Bigrep
        May 16, 2014 @ 12:00 am

        Thanks, I've tried that. But hit a wall.
        After pressing R at the set up menu I get (before any password):

        1: C:\WINDOWS
        Which windows installation would you like to log onto
        (to cancel, press enter)?

        So I push 1 (to access C correct?), and it seems to have frozen. Have I got a bigger problem at hand? It's and old satellite A80 that I'm repairing for someone to play on.

        Thanks again.

        Reply

        • lakonst
          May 16, 2014 @ 7:27 am

          Yes, your HDD is probably damaged and you have to replace it. Before you do that i suggest you try the following: 1. Press F8 when your computer starts and then boot your computer in "Last known boot configuration". If your computer doesn't boot again: 2. power off your computer and disconnect (or replace) the keyboard. Try to load Windows again. Finally, 3. connect the hard disk (if you can) in another working computer (as secondary) and boot into Windows from that machine. When Windows start, they will try to check and fix your damaged disk. After that, "return" the damaged hard disk on the first computer and try to load Windows again.

          Reply

  48. plamen_BG
    April 28, 2014 @ 10:28 am

    It's work! Thank you so much!

    Reply

  49. notinworkin
    April 17, 2014 @ 1:28 pm

    and when i download Download grubinst_gui Grub 4 Dos grub4dos.zip and follow the instructions and click install it says can not run the backround program

    Reply

  50. notinworkin
    April 17, 2014 @ 1:26 pm

    when i Download and Run USB Disk Storage Format USB Disk Storage Format USBFormat.zip (34KB) and then click start it says there is no media in the specified device

    Reply

  51. Yonn
    April 14, 2014 @ 2:00 am

    I do not have a latest RPx folder only RP0 and when I click it there is no snapshot folder! Help pleaseeeee!!!!

    Reply

    • lakonst
      April 14, 2014 @ 10:30 am

      I 'm afraid that System Restore was disabled on your system. In this case there isn't another way to fix your problem. You have to re-install Windows again.

      Reply

      • Yonn
        April 15, 2014 @ 12:57 am

        My Windows CD is longgg gone! Can I just download one off the internet somewhere? Or do you have a website I can go to , to fix this??

        Reply

        • lakonst
          April 15, 2014 @ 10:57 am

          Just Google it.

          Reply

  52. notinworkin
    April 12, 2014 @ 3:29 pm

    it didnt work for me becoz i dont have a place where to put the cd. I used a usb but it was no good plz help!!!

    Reply

  53. Rajakumar
    April 6, 2014 @ 4:23 pm

    Thank you so much

    Reply

  54. Randy
    March 25, 2014 @ 6:11 pm

    awesome, thanks! Most other instructions say to boot from Windows XP CD, but I got a BSOD when I tried this or Bart's PE. Your solution worked like a charm!

    Reply

  55. Denis
    March 22, 2014 @ 12:48 pm

    bravo!! fixed

    Reply

  56. Tarek
    March 19, 2014 @ 5:19 pm

    thank you , it worked like a charm …. god bless you . :)

    Reply

  57. chun
    February 22, 2014 @ 6:48 am

    my keyboard didn't work at he black screen, I cant select then, what's my problem?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      February 23, 2014 @ 1:10 pm

      Hello Chum, enable the USB controller Setting in the BIOS Setup (BIOS). (Status = Enabled)

      Reply

  58. Srinivas
    February 14, 2014 @ 7:43 pm

    Thanks, it really worked thanks so much!,:)

    Reply

  59. GoKuPOLAND
    January 31, 2014 @ 11:27 pm

    WIndows could not started due to an error while booting from a RAMDISK.
    Windows failed to open the RAMDISK image.
    File \HBCD\XP\XP.WIM could not be loaded
    The error code is 32768
    Setup cqnnot continue. Press any key to exit.

    Please HELP…

    Reply

    • lakonst
      February 1, 2014 @ 8:53 am

      Possible Causes: 1.the Hirens BootCD disk is faulty. Burn a new one (in a lowest speed) and try again. 2. Damaged Hard drive

      Reply

  60. Pol
    January 22, 2014 @ 9:26 am

    Mini windows XP runs on my comp but its takes about 5-10 minutes to boot up and it took about 2-4 minutes to open any app when i click it. Drive C also not detected. i cant do the repair above because it takes a very long time to process and sometimes its hang. I install the hardisk as a slave in my other computer but either windows don't boot up or if boot up it cannot be detected in my computer. Do i have a failed harddisk?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      January 22, 2014 @ 10:14 am

      Yes, i think your disk is damaged. Also give a try to install your hard disk as secondary (primary to the second IDE channel) to the other computer.

      Reply

      • Pol
        January 22, 2014 @ 12:48 pm

        I've already tried but still not detected.

        Reply

  61. mp
    January 20, 2014 @ 9:55 pm

    Perfect thanks. issue resolved thanks!

    Reply

  62. Tien Cao Minh
    January 10, 2014 @ 9:45 am

    Super solution.. it works.. Thanks a lot..I can repaired 3 machines with the same problem

    Reply

  63. saman
    January 7, 2014 @ 9:39 am

    I run Mini WINDOWS XP ON USB .
    when I run my windows hang and nothing happen.
    please help me.
    I installed my windows from original recovery Disk over and over but after installing my windows hang and nothing happen!!!
    my problem is similar to this but i can not fix it!!!
    please help me.

    Reply

    • lakonst
      January 7, 2014 @ 11:59 am

      Probably your problem is caused from hardware. (e.g. hard disk, video card or memory). But first of all try to clean your computer from dust and check all the fans. After that: 1. RUN MemTest86+" from HIREN's CD to check your RAM 2. Try to install Windows with another VGA card 3. Replace your Hard Disk. Good Luck

      Reply

  64. Mike Pease
    January 5, 2014 @ 8:50 pm

    I put the CD in and it starts booting then a message shows up stating The File MV91XX.SYS is corrupted. Press any key to continue, Then is says Setup failed. Press any key to restart your computer. What should I do?

    Reply

  65. Sjaak
    January 4, 2014 @ 7:01 pm

    Perfect help thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  66. joemar
    December 21, 2013 @ 7:29 am

    It really works.saves me lot of time of formatting my pc..thank you very much!

    Reply

  67. Emmanuel Llanos
    December 4, 2013 @ 7:28 pm

    I have a problem. When i right click the Hirens.bootcd.15.2 it doesn't have the option to burn it, so i did it manually. i selected the cd drive as first boot device as you sugested, then restarted but the hirens boot cd menu doesn't appear. instead there's a black screen with the following subject: "reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key". what am i doing wrong?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      December 5, 2013 @ 8:43 am

      Hello Emmanuel. You are doing something wrong with the burn process. Download & install ImgBurn (hhttp://www.imgburn.com/) and then right-click the "HirensBootCd" and burn the ISO file with it.

      Reply

  68. sanjay
    December 4, 2013 @ 12:37 pm

    Good solution. It helped me solve the problem of missing system file. thanks.

    Reply

  69. basit
    December 3, 2013 @ 10:58 am

    thnk u sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much and I appreciate how you help me

    Reply

  70. saddam hussain
    December 2, 2013 @ 11:21 am

    that was great …

    Reply

  71. John
    November 30, 2013 @ 11:32 pm

    Fixed problem then rebooted it came up ok the first time. Then rebooted and got same error about system missing or corrupt. I have fixed several times Boots ok once then on second reboot back to original problem?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      December 1, 2013 @ 11:41 am

      John, try this: After you replace the corrupted registry file , boot your computer in safe mode and follow this guide to scan your computer for malware: (https://www.wintips.org/malware-removal-guide/). Also check if your hard disk has enough space and uninstall any unwanted software. If all these don't help, then backup your files and make a clean installation of Windows again.

      Reply

  72. thanks
    November 26, 2013 @ 2:11 pm

    Thanks very much realy help me ! bless

    Reply

  73. yuvraj
    November 26, 2013 @ 7:07 am

    After follow your command, First word on my toung is 'wow'.
    Amazing.,you helped a lot

    Reply

  74. bld440
    November 21, 2013 @ 5:44 pm

    This works for windows server 2003?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      November 21, 2013 @ 8:57 pm

      i 'm not sure, (i think yes) but give it a try and inform me of the results.

      Reply

  75. geert
    November 19, 2013 @ 12:13 pm

    hello here Geert again, no my PC won't start at all. I see in a flash a blue srceen and then my PC start's up again.???

    Reply

    • lakonst
      November 19, 2013 @ 12:59 pm

      Probably this happens due to a bad hard disk or memory (RAM).

      Reply

  76. geert
    November 19, 2013 @ 11:54 am

    hello i am from holland so don't be mad about my english. your article is working fine but no a sreen about a update of a password appears in a flash and te PC will start up again. what to do?

    Reply

  77. Harri
    November 18, 2013 @ 7:31 pm

    I just saved my XP desktop after power interrupt at boot by storm. Excellent tutorial, million thanks!!!

    Reply

  78. hosein
    November 17, 2013 @ 7:28 am

    thanks so much for best article

    Reply

  79. Bob
    November 7, 2013 @ 10:49 pm

    Konstantinos, thank you very much for helping!

    So, booted from fedora 16 livecd (you were correct about raid drivers!). Found a recent restore point – but I can't copy to the […]/config/ directory, I get a input/output error – using both GUI and console (in console i did do it as su). The IO error happens also when i dir where config is the current directory.

    Regardless of cause, could i just delet the entire existing config directory and recreate it using all 5 registry hives from the restore point? (software, system, sam, security and default) Anything I am missing about that? What else goes in there?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      November 8, 2013 @ 7:46 pm

      Bob I performed the same operation (using Fedora 16) without any problems. So I believe that your RAID is probably corrupted due to a bad hard disk drive error (e.g. bad sectors) or to a faulty Raid Controller.
      I suggest to copy only the registry file which has the problem.

      Reply

      • bob
        November 12, 2013 @ 4:44 am

        Konstantinos – thank you for all your help. I got it to boot today; here's what I did in case it can help anyone searching around for a similar problem. In my case, Hiren's CD didn't help because it didn't have RAID drivers, and I had no luck slipstreaming f6 drivers onto a custom Hiren's disk. Fedora Live was great, as it had the drivers I needed but due to problems in my filesystem (NTFS), it wouldn't let me move the registry file I needed. I could have tried the repair within linux but thought a windows environment would be better.

        So, I used Norton's bootable rescue disk (has RAID drivers included) to get to a windows command line, ran chkdsk /r to repair the partition, then was able to use your tutorial to fix the registry.

        Bob

        Reply

        • lakonst
          November 12, 2013 @ 8:34 am

          Excellent information Bob! Thanks for share!

          Reply

  80. Bob
    November 6, 2013 @ 7:45 pm

    Appears this is still being monitored so… here goes ;-)

    After booting (off hbcd) into minixp, my c: is missing. WinExplorer (WE) won't find it and disk management doesn't either (letter c has been reassigned to what looks like one of my card reader slots). the missing drive is a raid 0 (stripe) of two sata drives; bios shows raid enabled and sata 1&2 enabled for raid. Nvidia raid setup utility shows a healthy array.

    WE shows as b: a ramdrive and x: as minixp, both showing as local drives.

    Would greatly appreciate your thoughts! Thanks in advance…
    -Bob

    Reply

    • Bob
      November 7, 2013 @ 3:12 am

      Update – possibly driver issue, looks like nforce raid drivers aren't included in mini (or any) xp. I found drivers, extracted, now just need to figure out how to slipstream them into a cd package (no floppy to install off during boot) with hirens mini xp – any ideas, maybe nlite?
      Also, do you think I'm heading in right direction?

      Reply

      • lakonst
        November 7, 2013 @ 11:22 am

        Hello Bob. Unfortunately i don't know if there is a way to slipstream RAID drivers inside HirensCD. But give it a try and boot your computer using the Fedora Live BootCD (I think it contains RAID drivers) and then perform the steps described at this tutorial. (Put your Fedora live on your CD/DVD drive, leave fedora to boot automatically and press the "Try Fedora" button when asked and then press "Close" button at next window. Inside Fedora press "Activities" from the left top and then click on "Files" icon. Then continue with the Step 4 from current tutorial).
        You can get the latest version of FEDORA DESKTOP LIVE MEDIA from here: http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora-all (FEDORA DESKTOP LIVE MEDIA: x86_64 – Live Image).

        Good luck & inform me of the results.

        P.s. If you have problems booting your computer with the latest version (19) of Fedora live, then I suggest you download a previous version (e.g. v16) from here: http://archive.fedoraproject.org/pub/archive/fedora/linux/releases/

        Reply

  81. Yvonne Lam
    October 31, 2013 @ 2:11 pm

    Since I didn't have another pc with cd-drive I managed to copy all files to a USB as described before. When booting the pc with the USB I even managed to load Windows Mini XP (step 3), then it starts opening windows and the screen turns black after that and nothing is happening. Tried another USB slot already, but the same. Any idea how to solve this problem or what causes it?

    Reply

  82. ramon
    October 27, 2013 @ 7:39 am

    The best! Thank you..

    Reply

  83. pallav2001in@gmail.com
    October 25, 2013 @ 11:56 pm

    CD is running since long, blank screen with DOS like pointer. nothing is happening. is it expected behavior? Does it take time to load prompt we are looking step 3?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      October 26, 2013 @ 6:59 am

      Try (if you can) to replace your CD-drive or to write Hiren's CD image to another disk.

      Reply

  84. YANTO
    October 19, 2013 @ 7:54 am

    Hi Constantinos,
    Thank you very much! Your tutorial is solving my problem. I know almost nothing about computers and yet following your instructions I fixed my desk computer. THANK YOU. I'm from Indonesia

    Reply

  85. Marc
    October 16, 2013 @ 3:40 am

    will this also work for "\systemroot\system32\config\software" problems? most of what i see here is "windows\system32\config\software" is there a difference?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      October 16, 2013 @ 7:23 am

      Hello Mark, yes it works (it's the same problem).

      Reply

  86. chkopo
    September 29, 2013 @ 1:38 pm

    I can't do 7th step

    Reply

  87. chkopo
    September 29, 2013 @ 1:31 pm

    I have this problem and windows\system32\config folder is not accessible ("the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable")

    Reply

    • lakonst
      September 29, 2013 @ 1:55 pm

      Probably your disk is damaged and you must replace it.

      Reply

  88. T2sTVus
    September 25, 2013 @ 11:43 pm

    This works for me.
    When you enter the installation, just keep on pressing next until you reach a part where it says. "Windows has found a damaged Windows installation". Once you see that screen, quit the installation. Then you can go in to your windows! :) Works for me!

    Reply

  89. Michael G.
    September 24, 2013 @ 11:32 pm

    Thanks for this article – I was able to quickly restore my wife's netbook and look like a tech hero – there's now an extra $5 in your PayPal account :)

    Reply

  90. Dads Cornejo
    September 23, 2013 @ 1:19 pm

    Hey guys, I'm having problems booting up my lap top in my Windows XP OS. I tried the procedure in this site, and while I was able to burn the procedure from another computer in to a CD I cannot continue on my problematic lap top. I was stocked in Step 4: Restore the Corrupted Registry File …..When I opened the System Volume Information from C:, I connot find the folder you are referring in the procedure, e.g " _restore {1GSJJKxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx …}".* What was showing was this:

    Mount Point Manager Remote Database

    Please help.

    Thank you.

    Dads C

    Reply

    • lakonst
      September 24, 2013 @ 8:52 am

      Hello Dads Cornejo, Probably System restore feature was not active before, so there are not restore points available.

      Reply

  91. Anoop TM
    September 13, 2013 @ 1:29 pm

    Superb boss.. it works.. Thanks a lot..

    Reply

  92. VincentNeedsHelp
    September 10, 2013 @ 9:51 am

    why after I loaded the Mini Windows XP, the scene was just blue in colour and can't move, pls help as fast as possible. Thank You Very Much!!

    Reply

    • lakonst
      September 12, 2013 @ 8:48 am

      Probably your memory is bad. Try to change it!

      Reply

      • VincentNeedsHelp
        September 13, 2013 @ 4:10 pm

        I mean after I burnt disc Image file to a CD and I loaded into Mini Windows XP, the screen was just blue in colour and can’t move. What do you mean my memory is bad? Sorry for my poor english……. pls help!!!

        Reply

  93. samuelthomsam
    September 8, 2013 @ 11:32 pm

    thanks a lot ihave got my files but not fully recovered i mean xp run on safe mode only

    Reply

  94. lsq@freemail.hu
    August 27, 2013 @ 3:48 pm

    Nice fix, but for the Future: First mount ISO cause old PC don´t enable to boot from ISO! :(
    Thanks for the Help!!

    Reply

  95. Alfredo
    August 15, 2013 @ 12:09 am

    Really works! Fixed my wife´s laptop in no time. Many thanks from Brazil!

    Reply

  96. Arnie
    August 14, 2013 @ 9:06 am

    Hi. I'm also having the same problem but my computer doesn't have CDROM Drive. Can I use a USB/ Flash Drive as a substitute to CD?
    Help please.

    Reply

  97. ejump
    August 13, 2013 @ 8:08 pm

    Thanks a mann…!!!!!! My PC just hang/black screen at startup (just after windows logo), All usual win recovery options, safe mode, etc FAILED.

    My Win XP CD recovery Console cannot detect my Windows Installation and ERD Commander wrongly identified my OS as Win NT Workstation. So I turned to Hiren.

    Tried rebuild boot.ini, fixboot, fixmbr, chkdsk, Norton NDD all failed….and not much answer or solutions I can find on the net for nearly 2 days and I almost gave up until I found your excellence article. After copying both system & software and…. Violla!!! I can log in to my safe mode and do the restore, again thank god everything back to normal again..

    Reply

  98. Guru
    August 10, 2013 @ 6:06 pm

    Excellent tutorial. This helped me a lot..

    Reply

  99. Laura
    August 9, 2013 @ 4:02 pm

    hey so I'm trying to restore a laptop with windows vista and in my system volume folder I do not have a _restore folder where would I find it?

    thanks for your help

    Reply

    • lakonst
      August 12, 2013 @ 6:25 pm

      Probably System Restore feature is disabled on your system.

      Reply

      • Laura
        August 13, 2013 @ 12:29 am

        How do I fix that? I might also Add I do not have the disk did download what was said above though

        Reply

  100. Dan
    August 6, 2013 @ 12:38 am

    YOU ROCK! Best tutorial and simple to follow! Genius! =)

    Reply

  101. hrd2thcr
    August 4, 2013 @ 3:27 pm

    You kick ass man :P

    Reply

  102. RM
    August 3, 2013 @ 9:26 am

    Just want to share my solution…

    I had encounter the same problem from my desktop few days before…missing or corrupted…
    "\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"
    …but I don't have any window XP cd or internet connection at that time.

    So what I did was removed my harddisk & become slave into another desktop… I opened my desktop like usual then right click on effected disk and open the "properties". Then I clicked on "check for error" (click both automatic & fix the error)… then restart my computer & wait until it finished… After that I taken out the harddisk & put it back to its original desktop. Then I run it as "last working configuration" during start-up… Then thank God its back to normal… :D

    Reply

  103. Matt
    August 1, 2013 @ 8:32 pm

    Excellent utility. I was unable to get Windows Recovery Console to run. This program saved me a lot of headache. Thank you so much!!!

    Reply

  104. asyraf
    July 22, 2013 @ 9:14 am

    Error of missing system file in system32 is sovled but pc keep restarting after win loading finish. how to solve?

    Reply

    • lakonst
      July 22, 2013 @ 9:42 am

      Hello asyraf,
      Log on to Windows into Safe Mode (if you can) and try to find what program runs on Windows Start-up (Run CCLEANER utility and go to "tools" > "Startup" > choose "Windows" tab and delete unnecessary start-up programs).
      Otherwise use Mini Windows XP from Hiren's BootCD, to backup your files and re-install Windows again.
      Good luck

      Reply

  105. Roberto
    July 18, 2013 @ 9:48 am

    Very, very exelent tutorial,… work fine.

    Reply

  106. Ellie G
    July 15, 2013 @ 12:07 pm

    It works for me toooo……Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  107. Rex
    July 12, 2013 @ 5:31 am

    Thank you so much. I never really comment on sites, but this information really helped. God bless, and I truly thank you!

    Reply

  108. Filipe Aguiar
    July 8, 2013 @ 6:01 pm

    Thaaanks! helped a lot!

    Reply

  109. abdo
    July 8, 2013 @ 11:12 am

    thank you so much, you have been a very big help

    Reply

  110. ttttt
    June 25, 2013 @ 8:21 pm

    thanks

    Reply

  111. gianpaolo
    June 22, 2013 @ 12:19 am

    Thank you very much. It's a perfect tutorial. You saved my computer!!!

    Reply

  112. Dipen Parekh
    June 21, 2013 @ 9:35 am

    Excellent!!! Worked like a charm!!!

    Reply

  113. Artephius
    June 16, 2013 @ 6:05 pm

    fixed me too. thanks.

    Reply

  114. t o n o
    May 31, 2013 @ 5:51 pm

    Thank you so much. This is good tutorial. Fixed my problem. Bookmarked.

    Reply

  115. Poly
    May 21, 2013 @ 12:26 pm

    I can't thank you enough! Your tutorial is THE BEST!!!! I know almost nothing about computers and yet following your instructions I fixed my laptop in no time! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

    Reply

  116. b n n
    May 16, 2013 @ 2:19 pm

    its work

    Reply

  117. Chris
    May 13, 2013 @ 9:11 pm

    omg! You saved my computer!!! Thank you so very much!!

    Reply

  118. Ivan
    May 9, 2013 @ 4:12 am

    Thanks for your help, but running chkdsk solve my problem :-D

    Reply

  119. Jake
    May 1, 2013 @ 11:17 am

    Thank you so much. This solved the problem with my system since I was not able to get to Repair option with XP cd as suggested everywhere.

    Reply

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